Hermione's Secret
by Scattered-Sunshine
Summary: Hermione has a secret. A big secret. A secret that could scare away her friends, ruin her reputation, destroy her life!
1. The Terror

CHAPTER 1 - HERMIONE'S SECRET  
  
Hermione woke with a start. It was that dream again. That horrible dream. Couldn't she dream something different for a change?  
  
It had been a little over a week since that fateful evening in the trophy room. She just couldn't forget it. But then, how could she. How could anyone forget something like that? She glanced at the clock: 2:37. She tossed the blankets aside and crawled out of bed. She'd never be able to get back to sleep without a drink. A drink and a good cry. Ooh! How she hated that Draco! Why had he done that to her? Her! Of all people! Things like this weren't supposed to happen to good girls like her. She shivered and glanced towards the window. Darn that Lavender! She'd left the window open again. Hermione rushed to close it, muttering under her breath. December was much too cold to leave the window open. Especially after this. Hermione shook her head. She wouldn't let him get to her anymore than he already had. She rushed from the dorm and headed for the bathrooms, where she sat in her locked stall and had a good, long cry.  
  
*----------*----------*----------*  
  
"Hermione? Are you all right? You look exhausted! Didn't you get any sleep last night?" Hermione glanced up from her breakfast to see Harry watching her closely.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well."  
  
"Wow Hermione," muttered Ron. "That's 3 nights in a row. You've got to get some sleep!"  
  
Harry jabbed Ron roughly in the shoulder. "What's wrong Hermione? Why haven't you been getting any sleep?"  
  
"I've just got a lot on my mind, ok?" She glared at them, then got up and stalked off.  
  
"Wow" Harry watched her leave. Hermione never spoke to them like that. It was usually him or Ron talking like that, not Hermione.  
  
Ron was also watching her retreating form. "Whadya reckon's wrong wit her?"  
  
Harry said nothing, only stared at the door Hermione had disappeared through.  
  
*----------*----------*----------*  
  
Hermione felt bad about snapping at her friends, but she couldn't help it. She was just so mad! Besides, it was Draco's fault anyway. If he hadn't.No. It was better not to think about that. She sighed, and headed for Transfiguration.  
  
*----------*----------*----------*  
  
Harry and Ron walked in just as the bell rang, and sat on either side of Hermione. Harry turned to say something, but stopped when Professor McGonagol began talking about transforming Teddy Bears into rabbits, and how they should pay attention because this particular test would show up on their N.E.W.T.S.  
  
"As you all know, N.E.W.T.S. will show up at the during your 7th year, which means you only have one more year to prepare." With that said, she went on to give them the instructions, then set them free.  
  
Ron noticed that Hermione was having some trouble with her rabbit, which was still stuffed, and still had a button nose. He was surprised, and reached behind her to nudge Harry. Hermione was always the first one to get the spells right, but today was different. But why?  
  
*----------*----------*----------*  
  
As the bell rang for class to end, the 6th years stood up to leave. Harry noticed Hermione walking especially slow. He slowed down himself to walk by her.  
  
"Hermione, could I speak to you for a moment?" Hermione stopped and turned, heading for Professor McGonagol's desk. "You boys go on ahead. I assure you, Hermione will be quite all right without you for 5 minutes." She watched them trudge out the door, then, with a flick of her wand, the door closed and the lock clicked. Sitting down, she motioned for Hermione to do the same, which she did.  
  
"Now," she began, "I have noticed that for the past couple of days, you have seemed especially down. Is anything bothering you? Anything I can help you with?"  
  
Hermione hesitated. She couldn't tell her! What would she think of her? Her whole life would be ruined if anyone found out! But then, she might be able to help. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed. She opened her mouth to speak. 


	2. The Secret Revealed

CHAPTER 2 - THE SECRET REVEALED  
  
"There's nothing wrong, Professor. I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all. You know how it is, with the N.E.W.T.S. coming up and all." She dropped her eyes and stared at her hands, which were fidgeting nervously.  
  
McGonagol looked at her suspiciously, but didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Hermione knew she didn't believe her. She stole a glance at McGonagol's face, and what she saw made her freeze. She'd expected to see anger for not telling her what she wanted to know. But she didn't see anger. Instead she saw compassion. McGonagol didn't know exactly what was wrong, but she did know that something was wrong. Something serious. After a long moment, she finally nodded.  
  
"All right. You may leave Hermione. Just remember, I'm always here if you need to talk."  
  
Grateful for the escape, Hermione dashed from the room.  
  
*----------*----------*----------*  
  
After taking a moment to compose herself, Hermione walked into Charms class and headed to a chair between Ron and Harry. They glanced curiously at her for a second, then turned to listen to Professor Flitwick talk about Hovering Charms. Hermione knew they were worried about her, but how could she tell them there was nothing to worry about without telling them her secret? And they could never find out her secret! She could see the looks on their faces now: full of anger and disgust. They would hate her. No. They could definitely never find out!  
  
The trio headed towards the Great Hall for lunch, but not before bumping into none other than Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Well, hello Hermione. Fancy seeing you here." Draco's voice dripped with sarcasm, and Hermione could feel Ron and Harry going tense. They obviously sensed the dread the Hermione now felt.  
  
Ron and Harry glared at Draco, while he sneered wickedly at Hermione, who just wished she could sink into the floor. After what seemed like hours, Harry finally grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her past Malfoy and into the Great Hall. Ron followed closely behind.  
  
They hurried to their seats, and Hermione quickly grabbed a ham sandwich and some Pumpkin Juice, still wanting to sink into the floor. Thankfully, the meal passed in silence, though Harry and Ron looked at her with looks of worry plastered on their faces. The inevitable finally came, though, when they reached the Common Room for their hour-long break before Potions. After checking to make sure the room was empty, Ron and Harry turned on Hermione, determined looks on their faces. Hermione gulped and glanced down.  
  
"All right Hermione, what is it?" Ron spoke first. "And don't you dare tell us 'nothing' or 'I'm just tired' or any of that crap. Something is wrong and I want to know what!" He glared at her, not noticing the silent tears streaming down Hermione's face.  
  
Harry, on the other hand, did notice the tears, and stepped forward, bringing Hermione into a hug. "We just want to help, Hermione. What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
'Why can't they just leave me alone? Why can't everyone just leave me alone!' Hermione's thoughts were running wild. She had to get away from here! They couldn't find out! She turned to run, but Harry held fast. She struggled for a minute, then finally collapsed against Harry and sobbed. Harry, unable to hold her up any longer, lowered her gently to the floor, and just let her cry.  
  
Ron looked on nervously, then sat down near Harry and began to rub Hermione's back gently. "It's OK, Hermione. We're here for you. We're not going anywhere." Ron muttered quietly, trying to comfort her. Harry nodded in agreement.  
  
After a while, Hermione's sobs began to quiet. She wiped her nose and dried her eyes with her sleeve, then Harry helped her to an easy chair, then sat on the arm and stroked her hand. Ron knelt on the other side of the chair, and nodded encouragingly at Hermione.  
  
Hermione looked up at the boys, then asked tentatively, "Are you sure you want to know?" They both nodded immediately, waiting for her to go on. Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath, then began.  
  
Sorry about the cliffhanger.again! But I had to do some explaining before Hermione confessed, and I didn't want to make the chapter too long! Well, I am going to upload this chapter tonight, and then we are going to a Christmas Party, so you won't get chapter 3 until tomorrow night sometime. (After all.tomorrow is Christmas, don't ya know?) Sorry if you don't celebrate Christmas, but you still understand the busy-ness, don't you? Well, enough chatter! I g2g, see you tomorrow sometime!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 


	3. The Confession

CHAPTER 3 - THE CONFESSION  
  
"Well, you remember how the other night, I was out late?"  
  
"Yeah," Ron remembered, "You were in the library doing homework. You hadn't come back yet when we went to be past midnight." Harry nodded. He also remembered that night.  
  
"Well, I finished up in the library at around 11:30. I was really tired, so I was heading for the common room, planning on going straight to bed. Well, I was just rounding into the corridor by the Great Hall, when." She stopped.  
  
"It's all right Hermione." Harry's soothing tone encouraged her to go on.  
  
"Well, the corridor was empty except for one person." She stopped again, and gulped.  
  
"Who was it Hermione? Who was the one person?" Ron could feel the tension building up. He wasn't even sure he wanted to know, but he wouldn't fail Hermione. No. Not when she needed them most.  
  
"Draco Malfoy" It was barely a whisper.  
  
Ron and Harry glanced at each other, both sensing this was much more serious than they had first thought. Harry voiced the question they both were wondering. "What did he do?"  
  
Hermione gulped, and gulped again. Ron pushed her hair back from her face. "He.he said he wanted to talk to me. Somewhere private. I agreed and followed him. He led me to an empty room. He locked the door behind us, and I asked him why. Why did he need to lock the door if we were only going to talk? He laughed." Tears were streaming steadily down her face. "He said he had no intention of just 'talking' with me. I tried to leave, but I couldn't open the door. He'd used a spell other than 'Allohamora'. He was still laughing. I turned around, and." She stopped again. The tears were flowing more rapidly now. Harry thought he heard an occasional whimper.  
  
"I turned around and.I noticed that he had.taken his shirt.off." Ron gasped. Harry's eyes were wide with fright. "I was scared, I started screaming. He dashed over and clamped a hand over my mouth. He hissed that if I didn't stay quiet, he would." She stopped again, and her eyes darted fearfully to Harry. "He said if I wasn't quiet he would do something. So I stopped screaming. He.started unbuttoning my robes.and he oh!" She wailed, "It was horrible!"  
  
Ron and Harry listened quietly as Hermione described in detail the night Draco Malfoy had raped her. Though, through it all, a question burned deep in Harry's mind.  
  
When Hermione had finally finished, she looked up at the boys, expecting to see disgust in their eyes. What she saw didn't surprise her. Their eyes were filled with fright, anger, disgust, hatred, all the worst possible emotions. Misinterpreting them, Hermione shot up, sobbing, and ran for the girls' dormitories.  
  
But she wasn't quick enough. Harry grabbed her arm, forcing her to sit down. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he immediately released her, still wouldn't let her pass. He and Ron watched Hermione cry for a moment, then they knelt so that they were eye-level with her. Harry touched her chin, pleading for her to look at him. Not wanting to see the disgust again, she resisted, then finally gave up. She'd have to do it sooner or later. She slowly looked into his eyes, and what she saw surprised her. She didn't see anger or disgust or anything like that. All she saw was love and compassion. She turned to Ron and saw the same thing.  
  
"Hermione. It's ok. We're here for you." She turned to Harry.  
  
"No matter what" Harry nodded at Ron's comment. Hermione let out a huge sigh of relief. She had been so afraid they would abandon her. But they weren't going to. Her eyes filled with fresh tears, and she threw her arms around the both of them.  
  
Ron was embarrassed for a moment, then followed Harry's example and returned the hug. The trio sat like that for a long time, relishing in the comfort of the other's being there.  
  
"Hermione." She glanced up, looking at Ron, waiting for him to go on. "Hermione. You need to tell someone. A teacher." Her eyes widened in fear. "No. Listen to me. This kind of thing deserves expulsion, Hermione. He deserves to be expelled after what he did to you!" Harry nodded. Hermione's eyes still held quiet, desperate fear.  
  
"I can't! I can't tell anyone!" Harry and Ron glanced at her in surprise. They watched her for a moment, then Harry's face showed understanding.  
  
Ron was confused. "Why not?"  
  
When she didn't answer, Harry asked her something that he had been dying to ask ever since she had first mentioned it.  
  
"Hermione? What did Draco say he'd do if you didn't keep quiet?"  
  
Sorry about the cliffy, but I still want you to read the next chapter! Teeheehee PLEASE review! I luv hearing what you guys think, and it's your reviews that keeps me writing. This story will be as long as you want it to be. Same with my "New Baby" story. Keep reviewing, and I will keep writing! 


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